


sturdy foundation

by rojohbi



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Furniture Guy Magnus, M/M, Makeup Artist Taako, maybe the REAL makeup look is the friends we made along the way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-10-25 22:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10773867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rojohbi/pseuds/rojohbi
Summary: It was charming and silly, and Magnus was in love. With the channel. Obviously the channel.[ under construction!! ]





	1. hail and well met

**Author's Note:**

> thanks @goth-taako for this. it got out of hand the second i started writing it and i really didn't mean to make this a multi-chap but here we are
> 
> this isnt betad so just let me know if theres anything to fix!

When Magnus gets home from work, there are things to be done - there was a leak in the roof that he hadn’t fixed yet, dishes to be done, and a wet load of laundry sitting stranded in the dinky washer. There was always something. He was tidy overall, but there was always some kind of task he was putting off. But he was sore and tired, shoulders and back aching from hunching over for hours. His head got a little fuzzy from the heavy smell of wood stains from time to time, as well. Making furniture was just as taxing as it was rewarding, but all he really wanted to do after a long day was vegetate in front of a screen for a while.

So he didn’t clean up or wash any dishes, woe as he may be about it later. Magnus moved the laundry to the washer, and emptied out the bowl that was catching the irregular drips from the ceiling. And then he sprawled on the couch in the living room of his charming little house, laptop propped on his chest, and he binge-watched makeup tutorials.

It was sort of an odd habit, in that Magnus didn’t wear makeup now and never had, but he liked watching others do it. There was something so interesting about the subtle changes, each color layering and mixing into something completely new and individual, each person giving it their own personal flair. It was similar to the satisfaction that carpentry gave him. The taking of a malleable base and using skill and mind to make something new and beautiful. It was compelling. It was relaxing. It was like taking all the fun of work home with him without any of the labor.

And, uh. There was another motivation entirely, but not one that he’d ever admit to anyone but his dearest friend, Carey. It was that the man who ran the channel Sizzle It Up with Taako was quite possibly the most gorgeous person he’d ever seen.

Magnus really wasn’t trying to be weird or obsessive. Taako’s channel was hilarious and watched by hundreds of thousands, and for good reason. He was not only an accomplished makeup artist, but Taako was a gourmet chef. Most of his videos were based on some kind of dish, the ingredients or the product lending the color palette and Taako making an amazing amalgamation of his talents. At the end of the videos, Taako would sit in his tiny bedroom with his twin sister, Lup, eating whatever meal the look had been based on (or cheap takeout instead, as some videos had shown) and they would talk about the look and the food and all kinds of things.

It was charming and silly, and Magnus was in love. With the channel. Obviously the channel.

“ _HA! You’ve got it so bad, Burnsides,_ ” said the Carey in his head. Magnus resolutely ignored head-Carey just as well as he ignored the real one. Which was to say, not very well.

“ _You’ve got a crush on a Youtuber. Weirdo._ ” Carey had positively _chortled_ when he’d admitted his celebrity crush, rolling around on his couch like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. Magnus had smiled, resigned and perfectly fine with taking her shit since he gave her plenty about her own crush.

Besides, how could he argue with that?

 

* * *

 

 

Decorating an apartment was really difficult. Like, really fucking difficult. No one ever told him that he’d need to know how to buy furniture and plates and a bedframe and all sorts of little things he'd never really thought about. And not to mention clothes hangers for his boxes and boxes and boxes and -

“Taako, how do you have this much clothing?” Lup was sitting on the floor, cross-legged and pushing through boxes to try and find something that wasn’t labeled ‘taako clothes’ in bleary half-dead sharpie scrawls. “How did you manage to keep me from noticing that a good half of our boxes are your damn closet?”

“ ‘S magic, Lulu. You’ll never know my ways,” Taako said through a mouthful of fresh brownie. Not so much of a mouthful that he had any flying specks of brownie, though - he wasn't a damn heathen. They’d agreed that if he made a snack, then Lup would start with the unpacking. She shot him a deadly look, and a bolt of very real fear went clean through Taako as he swallowed the confection down guiltily. “I smuggled them into the truck while you were shitting, right before we left.”

Lup groaned, slumping forward and letting her head smack again the box in front of her. It sort of sounded like it hurt. Taako cautiously approached her with a paper plated-brownie in hand, holding it out to his sister. She grabbed it right off the extended plate, lifting herself to shove the whole thing into her mouth. It was terrifying, and Taako laughed his ass off, snorting as Lup spit brownie crumbles all over the hardwood floor as she laughed along with him.

It was super gross, and when Lup tried to make excuses she just spit out some more, and they ended up doubled over laughing all over again. By the time they’d gotten rid of the mess and settled into a rhythm of unboxing and placing and setting aside what they couldn’t yet do, the sky had grown dark outside their apartment. They both had half-finished mugs of coffee, and when Taako looked at the alarm clock sitting wayward on the floor of the cluttered room he was shocked to see it was nearing one in the morning. Lup was fading fast, and when he mentioned it she made a furious face and chugged the rest of her coffee in seconds, shoving her mug towards him in a wordless askance for more. When Taako returned with her mug of coffee, his poor sister was awkwardly bent over a box, dead asleep and snoring.

Snickering, Taako (with some serious effort) lifted and carried Lup to the futon they had set up to hold them over. She looked so weird like this, slack expression free of the usual mischievous twist and her blonde pin-curls sticking every which way out of a bun piled on top of her head to match his own pinned-up locks. It was sweet, and he'd never tell her that he spent a moment just watching her breathe, taking some kind of comfort in her steady breaths before the snoring started to get a little obnoxious. He put a blanket over her and a pillow under her head, and then settled down with two mugs of coffee and some soft music playing from his phone to keep unpacking. Lup couldn’t nag him about not sleeping if she didn’t know he hadn’t - and she wouldn’t be back among the world of the living until well towards noon.

They could make this work. Just like always, her place at his side made the world so much less scary. Taking on big bad real life seemed like nothing, just as long as she kept spitting brownie everywhere and he kept on helping her clean it up.

 

* * *

 

 

Once Lup had woken and Taako had unpacked enough makeup that he could make himself presentable for the world, they huddled together in the bathroom with Taako’s makeshift recording setup. They chattered about the new apartment and the nice area around them, the cute little vegan breakfast place down the road that made super weird but incredible takeout, the glorious fun of unpacking together. It was a little cramped and different from the usual videos that Taako put up, but he was pleased with the outcome and set it to upload while the twins went shopping for apartment filler.

The city was bustling by mid afternoon, and they’d gotten everything done but furniture. Taako was exhausted, only appeased by the light breeze of the early spring weather and the fact that the lighting was just crisp enough to make his makeup look flawless. Lup teased him for strutting, Taako teased her for never having touched an actually fashionable skirt in her life, and they elbowed each other all the way into the Raven’s Roost, a quaint furniture shop that boasted all handmade and custom products.

There was a woman sitting on the front counter who smiled as they entered, a bell above them sounding their entrance as if their bickering didn’t. She greeted them kindly - wild teal hair was sticking out around her head and she had countless tattoos, and sort of looked like she’d walked into a thrift store and grabbed the first ten things she saw. Taako watched recognition flash across her face, but she didn’t say anything about Sizzle It Up - she just grinned wickedly, and Taako decided that he would like her quite a lot if they had time to chat.

“Hey, guys! I’m just watching the front for the owner - I’ll be right back.” She hopped off the counter, half-jogging to the back door. She threw it open, immediately shouting as she disappeared. “ _Maggie!_ You got company!”

The twins looked at each other, Taako’s brow surely arched just as high as Lup’s was. They wandered while they waited, the girl from before’s voice muffled through the walls along with a much deeper one. The shop was small, but was lined with gorgeous tables and chairs and the like, all with swirling or geometric or rather retro patterning. And no two pieces were exactly the same. Taako ran his fingers over one of the tables, the burgundy stain and twining vines engraved into the smooth wood making him a whole lot let skeptical than he'd been before. In fact, he was curious to meet someone who could make an L-couch look like something that belonged in a renaissance painting.

When the door finally opened again, the teal-haired woman came back through followed by a sheepish-looking beefcake wiping his stained hands on a cloth. Taako was delighted.

“Sorry about that, I was doing something a little time-sensitive.” He chuckled, plucking at his shirt as Taako watched attentively. The guy was easily a head taller than Taako himself, his flannel a dark red and half-buttoned and rolled up at the sleeves, and oh _God_ he had a scar across his eye and it was possibly one of the hottest things Taako’d ever seen. And capris weren’t - they didn’t look good, never, and here was this lumberjack making it work.

The man was still looking at the other woman curiously, who looked like she was about to combust for some reason. When he finally looked at his customers he sort of looked like he was going to choke, the woman watching on gleefully. Which meant that the wonderful specimen was the one who was a fan, presumably a big one; a fact that left Taako preening. Entirely too thrilled by the turn of events, Taako approached with a grin and completely ignored the sharp, knowing look that Lup was searing into his back. ‘ _Don’t try to fuck the furniture guy_ ,’ it said, and Taako exercised his well-refined talent of completely ignoring her.

“It’s no trouble,” Taako assured, batting his eyes as he held out a dainty hand. Not a hand to shake, though - that was hardly any fun. He held it palm down like a lady in waiting, testing just how much the man would play along. “Name’s Taako, and my sister is Lup.”

The man looked at Taako’s outstretched hand like it might bite him, glancing up at Taako as if to see if he was serious. Taako was, of course, completely serious. He had to restrain a squeal of total glee when the man got a determined expression and took Taako’s hand unexpectedly gently, pressing a fleeting kiss to his knuckles before backing up a step and clearing his throat. Lup sighed, and Taako could not give a fuck.

“Magnus Burnsides,” the man said, voice rough and a little choked. “And that,” he gestured at the teal-haired woman who was beaming at her friend, “is Carey. She keeps an eye on the front for me while I’m working on the pieces.”

“Well fuckin’ met,” Taako mumbled, glancing Magnus over again. Magnus noticed that, apparently, because he turned bright red again and coughed into his hand. Lup swung an arm around her brother, smiling as she patted Taako’s shoulder.

“Our pleasure, really. We’re looking for a couch and coffee table, though. And maybe some chairs, depending on how expensive your stuff is. This all you got to look at?”

Magnus chuckled, gesturing for them both to follow him. “Carey, can you stay up front in case anyone else comes in?” Carey nodded, sending her friend a thumbs up and a smile as she hopped back onto the counter. Taako saw Magnus shoot her a fond smile, his eyes crinkling, and he found something about that terribly interesting. Lup bumped her head against his lightly, seemingly bemused, and he nudged her right back before her arm fell to her side once more.

Talking half-over his shoulder, Magnus turned and led them to the back door into what was apparently part-workshop and part-warehouse. “Thanks, Care. Alright, you two, follow me. I’ve got plenty for you to see.”

Eyes firmly glued to Magnus’s ass at the chagrin of his sister, Taako had to agree.


	2. from the dining table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wh- Nothing?” Carey grabbed his arms, staring up at Magnus pointedly. “Those were the eyes of a man that wanted to bang, Burnsides. You have to - What are you snickering about?”
> 
> Magnus scrunched his face, trying quite hard to muffle the laughter. “Bangsides,” he finally muttered, and Carey giggled despite herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i read and adore all of your comments, thank you so much. you guys say the sweetest things, and you keep me motivated. i hope you like this chapter!!!
> 
>  
> 
> [chapter title and recommended listening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZxF_nA1SxQ)

The little bell above the door of the shop sounded the twins’ exit, and there was a moment of pure silence now possible with the bickering siblings gone. Magnus stood before the door as it swung itself shut, watching bleached curls and dark skin disappear from the smudged glass window front. Carey still sat on the counter, and he could feel her eyes boring into him. Magnus turned to her, and her grin was so huge it almost seemed painful.

All at once, the two of the burst into sound and motion. Carey leapt straight from the countertop to Magnus’ arms, and he effortlessly caught her as the pair of them shouted over each other excitedly.

“Magnus, he’s so-”

“He’s so much more gorgeous in-”

“They’re fucking hilarious-”

“I can’t believe they live here-”

“Did you see the way he was looking at you?”

Magnus snorted, shaking his head as he set Carey back onto her feet. “No, no, it was nothing.” 

“Wh-  _ Nothing _ ?” Carey grabbed his arms, staring up at Magnus pointedly. “Those were the eyes of a man that wanted to bang, Burnsides. You have to - What are you snickering about?”

Magnus scrunched his face, trying quite hard to muffle the laughter. “Bangsides,” he finally muttered, and Carey giggled despite herself.

“Okay, alright - Focus! You have to ask him out!” Magnus blanched a bit at the thought, and Carey shook him. “Don’t panic, you big baby. It’ll be easy! And even if, like, he were killed and replaced with a double which is the only way he’d say no -” He rolled his eyes at that, earning a sharp pinch in return. “- then you know he’d be really nice about it. Remember the whole Kravitz thing?”

Of course Magnus remembered Kravitz - he was an ungodly gorgeous man, and used to be the boyfriend of Taako. He’d been in a few videos, but he’d ended up having to move to another continent for work and would be traveling for an undetermined amount of time. When Taako discussed the breakup in a video, he talked mostly about how comfortable the situation was and that they were still very close friends. That there are always little bumps and  _ there’s no reason to write a rock song about it, just gotta deal wit’ it bubbale _ . 

Magnus wasn’t afraid of the rejection, though - there were worse things, and he’d live. He’d never really lived his life in fear of being told no. But if Taako said yes - what then? They’d go on a date? Maybe two? Maybe then Taako wouldn’t call him back, or he’d be nothing like what Magnus was expecting, or maybe they’d get together officially and it would be perfect and wonderful and everything he was hoping for and then out of nowhere Taako would just up and -

Carey yanked on his hand, and Magnus realized his eyes were watering. He swallowed something thick and gnarled in his throat, smiling down at his best friend as she smiled back sweetly. “I didn’t mean to push you, Mags,” she murmured, reaching up to pat his cheek. Magnus leaned into it, grateful for the comfort. “If you’re not ready for that, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. Only you know if you’re ready.”

What a good friend, he thought fondly, placing his much larger hand over Carey’s. She was so patient, so understanding - the perfect balance between pushing him forward but never past the brink, never over the edge. The two of them had been friends since high school, attached at the hip like they’d never been anywhere but together. Carey went out of state for college, but the two years that she was gone they spent chatting on the phone or texting nigh-constantly. And then she’d appeared on his doorstep all over again, grinning with bright pink hair and some new tattoos and a smattering of college credits she didn’t really want or need. 

The fact that her reappearance in his life coincided with Julia’s funeral was something they never talked about - Magnus wasn’t alone, Carey had an excuse to run from school, and together they filled the space left behind in the house Magnus’ father had left him. 

“The only way to know if you’re ready is to try,” he finally said, breathing deep and choking down the smell of floral perfume that rose in the back of his memory. The bottle was still in a box in the top of his closet. “And I’m scared as hell to try, Care-Bear.”

“I know, Maggie.” Carey pat his cheek a final time, squeezed his hand, and then pulled away to drag him out the door behind her. “Come on, let’s lock up for a sec and go get some coffee. We deserve it.”

 

* * *

 

 

When they got home, Lup ribbed him for trying to screw everything in sight. Which absolutely wasn’t true. At all. He just had a type. Taako tried to explain that for the millionth time, and Lup deflected the explanation for the millionth time. “No, you just seem to be attracted to guys who are emotionally stunted or don’t know how to do anything without marriage-level commitment involved.” 

Taako opened his mouth to argue, but really couldn’t. Lup sighed, plopping down on the couch beside her brother and slinging an arm around him. “Listen, buddy - I’m not trying to, like, stunt your game. A’ight? I just, um. I’m like. Worried about you.” 

Again, Taako opened his mouth to argue, but whatever he meant to say died in his throat when he looked at his sister. She looked so weary, the concern heavy in her features like there were mountains weighing on her shoulders. He realized that she might notice more about him than he’d thought, that she saw the dwindling supply of coffee and the growing collection of orange color corrector in his daily makeup. That she might hear him pacing around at night, that she knew the fake smile from the real ones even if Taako didn’t really know the difference himself. He realized, suddenly and sharply, that she knew him better than he knew himself because that was just like how he knew her. 

Taako’s jaw worked, gritting together in some half-assed attempt to excuse his behavior, but apparently Lup saw all she needed to in his face. She laughed softly, not sadly but definitely resigned, and she smushed her brother against her chest. “I love you so much, baby brother.” 

“You’re only older by a few seconds,” he argued purely for the sake of arguing. “And even then, we’re not totally sure that’s true.” Taako swallowed, breathing in the smell of Lup’s strawberry shampoo and something cinnamon and something purely her - purely them. The familiar beat of her heart and the brush of her curls against his forehead. Lup was all he’d had, the only thing that’d ever really mattered. The only thing that’d never left. He breathed her in, all of her comfort and spice and artificial fruit. It eased the tangles in his chest, but he didn’t tell her that because he suspected she already knew. “I’m getting better. I know it doesn’t look it, but I am. I sleep a few hours most nights, I eat at least once a day. My bedroom is clean.”

“That’s only because you haven’t had the time to ruin it,” Lup mumbled into his hair, and they both snickered. Her words sounded like the acknowledgement he needed, indirect but loving all the same. The pinching match turned into a wrestling match, which turned into breathlessly collecting all the materials for filming a video together and still trying to sneak a hit in where they could. It loosened some knot in his stomach that Taako hadn’t fully realized was there. It felt good.

It felt really, really good.

“Okay, not to be gay -” A snort interrupted him, quickly silenced by a sharp elbow, “- but we got some gorgeous furniture from this guy in town and he was- I can’t- Lulu, describe him in one word.” 

They’d gotten through the first half of the video and were now just gossiping with three different bags of chips open around them, crumbs littering their brand new couch. Lup, who was now leaning her back against the armrest with her legs in her twin’s lap, didn’t look up from her phone. She did try to kick him in the dick for the nickname, though, which Taako narrowly avoided. “Hunkalicious,” she finally deadpanned, popping her gum. 

Taako nodded, pleased, and shoved a few more chips into his mouth unceremoniously. “Yeah, hunkalicious is kind of the only good word for him. I mean, six inches on me in flats. Me in flats, not him. Although - hm. Heels would be _very_ -" Lup nudged him again, eyes warning. Taako cleared his throat. "Right, nevermind. He looked like a lumberjack, though. A total softie but, like, could benchpress four of me. He was the best damn thing I’ve seen in this town, and I’ve looked in a mirror since we moved here so that’s high fucking praise.”

“He also almost definitely watches this channel,” Lup added with a wry glance at the camera lens. “So basically, Taako is being openly thirsty in hopes that Mr. Lumberjack notices that he wrote his number on the receipt for the furniture and calls him.” Which, of course, was completely true. And also was horribly embarrassing for some reason, so Taako decided it was no longer true to the rest of the world. 

“No I didn’t,” he retorted, inspecting his freshly-painted periwinkle nails and noting the small smudges of makeup on the skin from the cut-crease tutorial he’d just finished. Lup looked at him hard, silent for just a moment before popping her gum again. There was this tenuous moment where the nothing just kept coming - _I’ll need to edit this out_ , Taako thought - and then the door to their apartment opened. They both got perplexed looks before understanding dawned on Lup and she flew off the couch, running towards the door.

“Greg fucking Grimauldis, if you don’t give me those fifteen dollars I will -”

She was drowned out by Taako laughing hysterically, their old roommate stammering excuses as Taako ended the video with a wink to the camera. The glitter on his eyes shimmered, and later on when he was editing alone in his bedroom with Lup long since lost to sleep, he silently admitted that it was a nice distraction from the dark circles he couldn’t quite cover. 

He didn’t mind, though. 

They’d fade soon.

 

* * *

 

 

Magnus and Carey spent a solid hour watching and rewatching the just-released Sizzle It Up video, a half-empty tub of ice cream with two spoons and a partially destroyed pillow fort littering the ground around them. Steven the Goldfish was on the table next to the laptop, swimming around happily to the sound of Taako’s voice coming through the speakers. As the look was finished (again) and the twins sat around chatting, Carey rocked forward and dragged the blanket with her, drawing a noise of protest out of Magnus. 

The moment the word ‘hunkalicious’ was uttered, Carey was cackling again, reaching back to pat at Magnus’ leg like it would prompt him to do anything but stare in awe. And a little bit of disgust. Not at the twins, but himself. Because he had made a terrible, terrible mistake. And one that he couldn’t fix. Definitely couldn’t fix.

Magnus made a noncommittal noise, still distracted by his horrible infraction. 

“Magster! Dude, seriously?” Carey slumped back onto the ground to look at him, sprawled over his legs in a manner that couldn’t have been comfortable no matter how she tried to convince him. The girl was some kind of lizard or something, honestly - she could contort herself in ways Magnus didn’t even want to think about. Weirdo. 

“What?” Magnus felt his face heating up, and he shoveled more rocky road into his mouth in an attempt to distract from the warmth. He wasn’t being excited enough, he knew. Carey was easily thrilled and wanted him to be, too. And he had every reason to be. If he had been a little more perceptive.

“Your idol and adoration is gushing over you publicly on the internet and you’re-”

“Coping,” Magnus interrupted around a mouthful of ice cream. “I am coping.”

Carey looked at him for a long moment before something seemed to click in her head, and she burst up to stand on her knees and point her finger straight into Magnus’ face. “You threw away the receipt! You threw it right in the trash, I watched you!” Magnus groaned, burying his face in the fuzzy blanket he yanked back from Carey purely for the purpose of hiding from the truth. “You tossed Taako’s number in the trash,” she snickered, and then full-out laughed. “Why don’t you just fish it out of the trash can?”

“It’s been days, Carey.” Magnus was still speaking into the blanket, but he knew she could understand him. “And the trash got picked up yesterday morning.”

“Oh, Maggie,” she sighed, patting him on the head. “Oh, you poor boy.”

“What if I never see him again?!” Magnus ripped the blanket away from his face, looking up at his friend with a grumble. “I can’t just- just- message him for it. That’s weird. That’s weird, right?”

“You have no idea what ‘weird’ means, do you?” Carey crawled back into their crumbling pillow-castle, urging Magnus to rest his head in her lap so she could brush through his hair with her fingers. “Real talk, Mags - just tell him what happened! He won’t care. You _know_ Taako won’t care.”

“I just -”

“You’re looking for excuses,” she scolded, though not at all harshly, and Magnus let out a breath. He absolutely was. He wasn’t meaning to, no. But he was grabbing at every excuse he could to not let this whole thing spiral out of control, the messy things that come out of tying yourself to another person. Even just slightly, it was never easy to get mixed up in someone else’s business. If he lost Carey, what would he do? Who would finish his sentences, build pillow forts and shovel ice cream, watch the shop while he worked, tell him he was more okay than he thought he was? 

People left, people broke, people died. There was no escaping that. Magnus knew it intimately, the surety of change being something he held close to his chest when there was no more Julia to fill the space.

“Yeah, I am,” Magnus agreed. When he looked up at Carey, she looked about to cry. He forgot, sometimes, that his feelings weren’t always just his. “I’m kinda scared, Care-Bear.”

“I know you are, Maggie.” She smiled, brushing his hair back from his forehead. “But you can’t stay afraid forever.”

“It hasn’t been forever.” Carey just shook her head at that, closing her eyes. He wondered, briefly, if she was remembering Julia just like he did. Her big hair and her bigger laugh, her raunchy jokes and the way she’d grab anyone willing and twirl them around the room if there was anything even slightly upbeat playing in the background. The three had been good friends, in high school. Inseparable.

“No, it hasn’t,” she agreed, despite the shake of her head. “Only six years.”

Only six years, Magnus repeated in his mind.

Only six years.


	3. make you feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s not how that works,” Carey said, rolling her eyes. “Though I definitely wouldn’t complain if it was. Between the two of you I’d be, like, so buff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its here! im back!!!! i spent a lot of time out of state for some emergency stuff, and then have been on vacation all this week for my graduation present, so ive been trying to churn this out as quickly as i can
> 
> i hope you guys like it, and let me know if theres anything youd like to see! <3
> 
>  
> 
> [chapter title & recommended listening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poH_T0tavq8)

Killian got a hold of them early in the morning - by Taako’s standards, of course. Lup’s definition of early was anything before two in the afternoon. It was hardly nine-thirty when she messaged, though, surprising Taako enough to spill a bit of coffee grounds onto the counter. He just brushed it onto the floor and sort of nudged it around, making it less noticeable. Good as new.

Flipping the top down and switch up on the coffee machine was muscle memory for Taako at this point, for how long they twins had owned the old thing. He didn’t even have to look, really. Leaning one hip against the counter, Taako opened his phone with a pleased smile. He hadn’t seen Killian in a while, and she was much closer with Lup than with him, but she was gorgeous and good fun. What more did you need, really? Killian had asked them to meet her and a few friends for coffee, and Taako tapped out a confirmation that they'd be there.

“Lup!” Taako barely even moved towards his sister’s room, just tilted his head to hear if she was at least awake enough to grumble. 

“Hnngh,” he heard in response. Close enough, he figured. 

Giving the coffee pot a fond pat on his way out, Taako came to Lup’s gaping doorway and leaned on the dark wood with a grin. He took a few pictures of her, dead to the world with her boxer-clad ass sticking in the air like a puppy. Just for safekeeping. 

“Get movin’, kemosabe. Coffee with Killian in an hour.” 

Lup grumbled, rolling to the side in an awkward flop. Her legs were tangled in her comforter - a  _ NASCAR _ one from CostCo with ‘sick-ass flames’ - and Taako let out as a dramatic a sigh as he had in his repertoire. “You’re a six year old, I swear,” he grumbled as he perched on the mattress, carefully disentangling Lup’s legs from the blanket. 

Lup made another sleep-fueled chuffing noise, one eye fluttering in partial cognizance. Waking her was always a process - it usually took nearly an hour if she was left to her own devices, but it was still twenty minutes if Taako coaxed her out of sleep consistently. She was awake enough to be pliant under his hands, and after she was settled into a normal position Taako just chattered absently and braided a lock of her hair while she broached the surface of wakefulness. 

“Morning, sleepy,” he greeted with a crook of his lips as her eyes cracked open. Lup yawned, and Taako fanned her morning breath out of his face. 

“Mornin’,” she finally breathed, letting out a sleepy hum. “Wha’s goin’ on, again?” 

“Coffee with Killian in -” he paused, checking his phone. Only ten minutes had passed while Taako was waking her up, so they were still fine on time. “About fifteen minutes,” he said after the momentary pause. Taako watched with a grin while Lup immediately rolled out of bed and onto the floor in a panic, stumbling as she tried to wake herself up and get to the bathroom simultaneously.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind her, and Taako meandered back to the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and listened to the shower turn on, Lup complaining intelligibly. Taking his time, he started on his makeup in his bedroom. He didn’t have time to do anything too glamorous, but Taako would hardly pass up on a chance to impress somebody new. 

He wondered idly what it’d take to get Magnus to go out with him, even just once. Or if Magnus was planning on ever using the number that Taako had surreptitiously given him.

Oh, well. A loss, but Taako wasn’t going to let him waste any time being bothered.

Just as he was sealing up his foundation, Lup tossed his door open with his phone in her hand and he startled. 

“Fifteen minutes?” she accused, and Taako started searching for an escape that he knew he wouldn't find.  “I could’ve slept in, you dick!” 

And with that, Taako went down as his sister bowled him over, the two shrieking with laughter.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, guys! Over here!”

Magnus smiled, seeing Killian waving from her seat in the corner with a grin plastered on her lips. He nudged Carey, who was just as awestruck as she always was when they hung out with Killian. The smaller girl let out a breathy laugh, and then the momentary hesitation was gone as Carey bolted over to their friend and knocked into the poor woman with the force of her hug. 

“You’re pretty strong for such a tiny thing,” Killian teased, ruffling a hand through Carey’s hair. Carey turned a little pink, snickering as she tugged gently on the part of Killian’s hijab that she knew wouldn’t pull it loose. It was a shimmery gray-green, and Magnus noted how much he liked the color on her as he pat Killian on the head once he got close enough to do so.

“Isn’t she? I think I’m rubbing off on her,” he agreed proudly. Carey plopped down into a chair, yanking the other two down with her. 

“That’s not how that works,” Carey said, rolling her eyes. “Though I definitely wouldn’t complain if it was. Between the two of you I’d be, like,  _ so  _ buff.”

“Ultra buff,” Killian agreed with a nod.

“The buffest,” Magnus confirmed sagely. 

The three let a moment pass before they started laughing, a giggling mess of twenty-somethings in a cheap cafe. 

Carey collected herself, pushing her hair out of her face as she looked at their table, no longer a little table for three but one set with six chairs. “Who are the extra seats for, though? We don’t usually sit here.”

“Oh!” Killian grinned, a big wickedly, and Magnus got worried. “I invited along a couple friends of mine. They should be here soon, but one of them gets a bit attached to her bed. And the other won't go anywhere until he knows how to make a dramatic entrance."

The door rang as it opened again (“Speak of the devil,” Killian muttered) and a bickering pair of twins entered with interlocked arms, both of them looking around for their friend. Lup spotted them first, and her eyes went immediately to Magnus. He swallowed, nervous. Taako saw them next, and whatever Magnus was expecting, it wasn’t a shit-eating grin spread across the man’s perfectly sculpted face.

_ Contour is a magical thing _ , Taako had once said in a video. Magnus agreed wholeheartedly. 

“Mr. Burnsides and company,” Taako greeted, sauntering up and dragging a bemused Lup along beside him. The blonde man slid into the chair beside Magnus, Lup taking the edge and sharing a knowing glance with Killian beside her. 

“Hey Taako, Lup,” Magnus greeted, the others all mimicking as they all said their hellos. Despite the amiable air, Magnus was reeling. He knew that Taako thought he was attractive - he’d said so clear as day to the countless number of people who watched his videos. And it wasn’t like Magnus didn’t return the sentiment. But the reality of it still lit a burning fear in his chest, something too tangible and possible for his current state of mind.

Carey set a hand on his gently, drawing Magnus out of his own head and back into the cafe and surrounding chatter. She smiled kindly and pulled him to stand as she rose out of her chair. “C’mon buddy,” she said softly, giving a reassuring wink to Magnus and then to Killian when the other woman gave Carey a worried glance. “Let’s go get some coffee.”

Standing in line, away from the group, was a breath of fresh air. Carey had a comforting hand on his arm, plucking at the sleeve of Magnus’ t-shirt idly. “Thank you for that,” he finally said, looking down at his wild-haired friend with a meek smile.

“Hey, no problem. ‘S what I’m here for.” Carey smiled back fondly, cocking her head. “We can leave, if you want. It’ll be no problem. Killian won’t mind, and she can always make an excuse for us. She’s good at that.” 

Magnus really thought about it - going home to his comfortable bed, or going into his workshop so he could get out of his head for a few hours. But he hated to take away time that Carey and Killian could spend together, and he  _ wanted  _ to be friends with these people. He adored Killian, and the twins were an upbeat and hilarious addition to their group. Magnus didn’t want to run from this, he wanted to change it. 

“No, no, that’s alright,” Magnus finally said, shaking his head. “I actually think I have an idea.”

 

* * *

 

 

The five of them spent nearly three hours in the cafe before anyone even thought to look at the time. Taako didn’t even know what they’d talked about - nothing in particular, just shared stories and bullshitting - but it had somehow let the time pass into early afternoon. The only thing that Taako knew was that his flirting wasn’t working. Which was, well. Kind of a first, actually. 

Magnus was absolutely reacting. It was incredibly easy to draw a blush or a stammer out of him, the man’s eyes darting away with a nervous smile. And he hadn’t shut Taako down yet, which seemed promising. But he wasn’t flirting back, wasn’t loosening up. Lup kept sending him warning signals, and Taako kept ignoring them simply because he didn’t understand what he was doing  _ wrong _ .

Killian finally shot out of her chair in a panic, half-shouting “I’m late!” as she collected all her things and left in a rush. She didn’t leave without ruffling Carey’s hair, a note that Taako tucked away with interest along with the color blooming on Carey’s cheeks. 

The remaining four decided to disband, with promises to spend more time together soon. Magnus seemed oddly quiet, but when they left the cafe his hand closed around Taako’s arm. 

“Would you mind, just - coming here for a moment?” Magnus gestured to an empty spot a few feet away, out of range of eavesdropping, and Taako nodded. He was a little worried, sure, and he wasn’t sure why he felt like he was being dumped, but Taako bottled that up quickly and decided not to look at it too hard as he followed Magnus over.

There was a moment where they just stood there, Magnus looking like he’d swallowed his tongue and Taako being sure to look nothing but curious. Something had to break, and it turned out to be Magnus having apparently decided on what he wanted to say. 

“You’re gorgeous,” he blurted, a little breathless, and Taako preened despite the fact that he knew it'd be followed by some sort of rejection. “But I’m not - I’m dealing with certain things, and I don’t really do anything other than steady relationships. And I wouldn’t have the first clue about how to handle even that right now, so. It’s not anything against you, I really - you’re a dream, honestly. But I’m kind of a mess.” Magnus swallowed, and then thrust a napkin at Taako just as suddenly as he’d started talked. “I would really love to be friends with you, Taako. You're talented and hilarious, and I don't want to lose your friendship just because I wasn't ready for anything else.” And then he smiled, sure and easy like the rising sun, and Taako couldn’t do anything but nod. He took the napkin and realized it had a number on it, and Taako let out a startled laugh.

This guy just kept on surprising him.

“Yeah, Mags. I think I’d really like that.” 

“You would?” Magnus looked, for all his size, like a puppy. Hopeful and wanting nothing but to please, to be kind. Taako felt a bit humble just being on the receiving end of kindness so- so-  _ unconditional _ . To be on the receiving end of someone with so much love in their chest they can't help but give it away.

Taako nodded, smiling back up at Magnus and punching him in the arm. Magnus laughed, rubbing his bicep sheepishly. “Yeah. I would. Being your friend sounds like a fine time.”

“Amazing,” Magnus breathed, and he pat the top of Taako’s head fondly before running off towards Carey. They swung arms around each other, practiced enough that the height difference was no issue, and their beaming smiles and excited chatter were a sight to see until they were swallowed by the lunch-rush crowd of the city.

Taako watched him go, heart in his throat. Magnus Burnsides was trouble, and he didn’t even know it.


End file.
